Monday, July 27, 2015

We all know by now many reasons why we should be or get connected, but then we've also got to think about the importance of unplugging. Do you make intentional plans to unplug? What are some ways that you unplug? Do you agree with the authors' statement that connected educators "realize that part of digital citizenship is knowing not only when and how to connect, but also when and how to unplug"?

We only have one more week of the book club remaining. If you are behind in your reading and commenting, now is the time to catch up on both. You will have until Friday, August 7 to make your comments to all the blog posts to be eligible for the $1000 PD grant.

**Don't forget about the Twitter chat this week around this book. Whether or not you've participated in a Twitter chat, this is a such a great one in which to get involved. It is typically not too fast-paced so it's easy to follow along. Thursday night at 9pm eastern/8pm central tweet with us using the hashtag #INeLearn.

Monday, July 20, 2015

The authors talked a lot about modeling in this chapter. This quote jumped out at me: "Within a school culture that models and expects every member of the school community to look out for one another and values the voice of each member of that community, the mindset they operate under is: What we model is largely what we get." What do you think of this quote? How do you see this play out in your classroom or school? How are you modeling connectedness to your students and/or fellow teachers?

We only have one chapter left after this week. We will be reading "Key Connector 8 Know When to Unplug" next week. Be sure you are taking time to catch up on your reading and commenting. And if you haven't introduced yourself in the week 1 discussion, please be sure you do that.

Monday, July 13, 2015

Relationships are so important in education, but had you thought about their importance in relation to your PLN? The authors mention a few specific topics regarding relationships -- trust, expect the best, respond in kind, a personal touch, celebrate good times, value diversity and dissent. Do you find any of these more of a struggle for you or more important in your relationship building?

I'm so happy to see all of the sharing that went on with last week's blog post! As always, please go back and check out what other people had to say about your comment or others'. Next week we will be reading and discussing "Key Connector 7 Model the Way."

If you missed the announcement two weeks ago, we are going to have a #INeLearn Twitter chat specifically intended for you all! This will be a great opportunity for everyone, especially for those who have never participated in a Twitter chat. The chat will be on Thursday, July 30 at 9pm eastern. If you would like more information about the #INeLearn Twitter chat, including upcoming topics and archives of past chats, please visit http://inelearnchat.blogspot.com/. I will share more information in the coming weeks. I hope to see you all there!

We only have 3 weeks left in the summer book club. If you have not introduced yourself in the first week's blog post, please do so. These introductions are how I find all the participants to send out PGPs at the end of the book club.

Monday, July 6, 2015

This week, continuing the celebration of our independence, I'm opening the topic(s) of this week's conversation to you. What would you like to talk about? What questions do you have for your fellow book club participants or what thoughts or ideas do you have to share? Someone jump in and lead the conversation.

Next week we will read Key Indicator 6 Know That It Is Still About the 3 Rs: Relationships, Relationships, Relationships.